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Two women arrested in London on suspicion of 'preparing to travel to Syria to join Isis'

Record number of arrests of females suspected of terrorism in year to March

Monday 22 August 2016 15:04 BST
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New Scotland Yard in London
New Scotland Yard in London

A teenage girl and a 20-year-old woman have been arrested for allegedly trying to travel to Syria to join Isis.

In a statement, Scotland Yard said: “Officers from the Met Police Counter Terrorism Command arrested a 20-year-old woman and a 16-year-old girl on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts, namely travelling to Syria to join a proscribed organisation.

“They were arrested in central London at approximately 2100hrs on Sunday, 21 August. Both were taken into custody.”

Official figures show that a record number of females have been arrested in 2015/16 as part of a counter-terrorism crackdown. There have been a total of 36 arrests in the 12 months to the end of March.

There has also been an increase in the number of under-18s detained, rising from eight to 14 arrests this year.

The arrests come only weeks after the news that Kadiza Sultana, one of three schoolgirls from east London who ran away to join Isis, is thought to have been killed in an air strike.

The 17-year-old was reportedly planning to escape and return to Britain after becoming disillusioned with life in Syria.

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